Union County, Indiana Genealogy

United States Indiana Union County

Guide to Union County, Indiana ancestry, family history, and genealogy birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, family history, and military records.

Union County, Indiana
Map
Location of Indiana in the U.S.
Facts
Founded	January 5, 1821
County Seat	Liberty
Courthouse
Address	Union County Courthouse 26 W Union Street Liberty, IN 47353 Phone: 765.458.6121 Union County Website
Template:Adoption Indiana Genealogical Society

Historical Facts

Beginning dates for major county records
Birth	Marriage	Death	Land	Probate
——*	1821*	——*	1821	1821
*For earlier dates, try... Church | Obituaries | Cemeteries

Populated Places

Boundary Changes

For animated maps illustrating Indiana County boundary changes, "Rotating Formation Indiana County Boundary Maps" (1790-1873) may be viewed for free at the MapofUS.org website.

• Parent Counties: Formed from Adams New Purchase (Allen/Delaware/Randolph) in 1835
  
• County Seat: Decatur
  

Neighboring Counties

Wayne • Fayette • Franklin • Preble • Butler

Template:INUnion,Indiana Clickable Neighbors

Parent County

1821--Union County was created 5 January 1821from Wayne, Franklin and Fayette Counties.
County seat: Liberty

Record Loss

February 1903 -- Courthouse burned and many records were damaged. For a list of record loss in Indiana Counties see: Indiana Counties with Burned Courthouses

For further information on researching in burned counties, see the following:

• Burned Counties Research in FamilySearch Wiki
• Michael John Neill, Burned Counties in Family History Circle

Union County, Indiana Resources

Cemeteries

• Cemeteries of Union County USGenWeb
• Fosdick Funeral Home Records: 1915-1971: Courtesy of the Union County Public Library Website

Census Records

For tips on accessing Union County, Indiana Genealogy census records online, see: Indiana Census.

• Index to Mortality Schedule (1860) Indiana Genealogical Society)
  
• Index to Defective, Dependent Delinquent Census Indiana Genealogical Society)

Church Records

Most church records are held by individual churches. For contact information, check a phone directory, such as SearchBug or Dex Knows. Some denominations are gathering their records into a central repository. For more information about these major repositories, see Indiana Church Records.

Presbyterian

Dunlapsville Presbyterian Church

• Members of Dunlapsville Presbyterian Church, Liberty Township (1829-1912) Indiana Genealogical Society)

Presbyterian Church, Brownsville

• 1830-1851 - Presbyterian Church, Brownsville, Baptism Index 1830-1851 in International Genealogical Index at FamilySearch - free. Batch C524131 .

For more information about these major repositories, see Indiana Church Records.

Finding More Church Records

Additional church records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Union County, Indiana Genealogy Church Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Directories

• Directory of Businesses in Union County (1858, 1868) Indiana Genealogical Society)
• Directory of Selected Residents of Union County (1876) Indiana Genealogical Society)

History

Local Histories

• Biographical and Genealogical History of Wayne, Fayette, Union and Franklin Counties, Indiana. (Indianapolis, Ind: Frederic Luther Co, 1980).977.26 H2b977.26 H2b v. 2 FHL US/CAN Book FHL Collectionother libraries  vol. 1 INTERNET ARCHIVE
  

• History of Union County Likpendium

Land and Property

Land and property records can place an ancestor in a particular location, provide economic information, and reveal family relationships. Land records include: deeds, abstracts and indexes, mortgages, leases, grants and land patents.

After land was transferred from the government to private ownership, subsequent transactions were recorded at the courthouse, where records are currently housed.

See Indiana Land and Property for additional information about early Indiana land grants and patents. 

Finding More Land Records

Additional land records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Union County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Maps

• Old Antique Atlases & Maps of Indiana
• Maps and GazetteersLinkpendium

Military Records

War of 1812

Civil War

Civil War service men from Vermillion County served in various regiments. Men often joined a company (within a regiment) that originated in their county. Listed below are companies that were specifically formed in Vermillion County.

• 3rd Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company F
• 9th Regiment, Indiana Cavalry, Company D
• 15th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company I
• 36th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company G
• 84th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
• 105th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies B and D
• 147th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company C
• 148th Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Companies F and F
• 152nd Regiment, Indiana Infantry, Company D

World War I

World War II

Probate Records

In most counties in Indiana, probate records have been kept by the county clerk of the circuit court. They include wills, fee books, claim registers, legacy records, inheritance records, probate ticklers, and dockets. The records are available at the Union County courthouse. For more information, see Indiana Probate Records.

Finding More Probate Records

Additional probate records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Union County, Indiana Genealogy Probate Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).
• South Bend Area Genealogical Society: Wills Index 1830-1971 for St. Joseph County

Repositories

See also a List of Indiana Archives, Libraries, Publications, Historical & Genealogical Societies

County Courthouse

Union County Courthouse
26 W Union Street
Liberty, IN 47353
Phone: 765.458.6121

Clerk Circuit Court has marriage, divorce, probate and court records from 1821.
County Health Department has birth records from 1882 and death records from 1907.

Family History Centers

FamilySearch Center and Affiliate Library Locator map - search for local FamilySearch Centers or Affiliate Libraries

• FamilySearch Centers provide one-on-one assistance, free access to center-only databases, and to premium genealogical websites.
• FamilySearch Affiliate Libraries have access to most center-only databases, but may not always have full services normally provided by a FamilySearch center.
  

Local Centers and Affiliate Libraries

• Oxford Ohio Family History Center

For additional nearby Family History Centers, search online in the Family History Center directory.

Taxation

Indiana tax records complement land records and can be used in place of censuses or to supplement the years between censuses. Because only persons who owned taxable property were listed, many residents were not included in tax lists. There may also be gaps of several years in the tax records of some counties. For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.

For more information see the wiki page Indiana Taxation.

Finding More Tax Records

Additional tax records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Union County, Indiana Genealogy Tax Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).

Vital Records

Vital records consist of birth, death, marriage and divorce records. Indiana law in 1882 required registration of births and deaths in counties. The Indiana Department of Health has birth records filed after October 1907 and death records filed after January 1900 for deaths. Copies may be obtained from the county health department or the Indiana State Division of Vital Records.

• Indiana State Digital Archives for Death, E-Publication, Institution, Military, Misc Historical, Naturalization Records can be searched by person name (accessed 26 May 2011)
  

Marriage Records

• Indiana Marriages, 1802-1892-Ancestry.con $
  

• Indiana Marriages, 1780-1992- FamilySearch
  

• Indiana Marriage, 1811-1959-FamilySearch
  

Death Records

• Indiana, Death Index, 1882-1920 - FamilySearch

Finding Vital Records at Other Repositories

Additional vital records can sometimes be found using search phrases such as Union County, Indiana Genealogy Vital Records in online catalogs like:

• WorldCat (For instructions see WorldCat Online Catalog).
• FamilySearch Catalog (For instructions see FamilySearch Catalog Place-name Search).

Union County, Indiana Web Sites

• Union County, IN History, Records, Facts and Genealogy
• Indiana Genealogy Network Community on Google+
• Indiana Genealogy Network Group on Facebook
• USGenWeb project. May have maps, name indexes, history or other information for this county. Select the state, then the county.
• FamilySearch Catalog
• Union County, Indiana Genealogy and Family History (Linkpendium)

To access available information, first log into FamilySearch.

Family History Library (FHL); now called, FamilySearch Library (FSL)